Cows and Whistles
Plot Cows can be a menace to the Island of Sodor. They often stroll down the line and cause large delays. Almost every engine has dealt with cows at one point. But Caitlin hasn't ever met a cow before. One day, she was visiting Tidmouth Sheds before going back to the Mainland. She heard an interesting conversation. "Cows are a menace to all engines," Henry was saying, "They do anything bad: block the line and then obnoxiously not move." "Cows," agreed Gordon, "are vulgar." Caitlin chimed in. "Cows are very kind creatures. They'd never do that." Gordon and Henry glared. "You've never met a cow, have you...?" huffed Henry. "Well, no but-" "So how in the world do you know about cows?" "Um, well... I bet I could shoo a cow away." challenged Caitlin. Gordon laughed. "Yeah, right." he chuckled. Caitlin was cross. "I have a shrill whistle, unlike you!" she huffed. Gordon blew his whistle and startled Caitlin. "You were saying?" said Gordon smugly and Henry laughed. Her driver walked up. "No time to chat Caitlin, time to go." Caitlin steamed away towards the Mainland. At Barrow-in-Furness, she saw Connor with his coaches. "Hello, Caitlin!" called Connor, "You look a bit upset." "I am," replied Caitlin, "Have you ever seen a cow before?" Connor chuckled. "Maybe once or twice when I go out into the countryside." "But have you ever tried to shoo one away?" "Well, no... Why do you ask?" Caitlin explained about the conversation she had with the other engines that morning. "Edward told me that Gordon and Henry had incidents with cows in the past. This'll be a good chance to prove that cows aren't trying to hurt anybody." said Caitlin. Connor laughed. "Maybe you can shoo a cow while I'm watching, Then, I'll tell Gordon. Now if you excuse me, I have to go." and Connor left. A BR Class 08 shunted Caitlin's coaches into place, and the passengers boarded the train. The guard blew his whistle, and Caitlin started off to Ulfstead Castle. As Caitlin raced through Maron Station, she passed Gordon. "Have you tried to shoo a cow yet?" he laughed. "Um.... no," replied Caitlin meekly. "I guess you're scared to!" and Gordon raced off. Caitlin was now crosser than ever. At Ulfstead Castle, Connor had burst his safetly valve, and was now very upset. "Don't worry Connor," comforted Millie, "Surely somebody is to come soon." Just then, Caitlin arrived. "What happened here?" she gasped. "I burst my safety valve," explained Connor, "and the Earl sent for Gordon to take me to the Steamworks." Caitlin sighed when she saw a glimpse of blue in the distance. "So, have you still tried?" Gordon teased. "Well..." "Shut up, Gordon!" cried Connor, "Caitin will shoo a cow away soon, I know it!" Caitlin was surprised. "Alright Caitlin, do it." challenged Gordon as he pulled Connor away. "Alright..." and the shunter coupled her up. Beside the line was field with many cows and sheep grazing. Caitlin looked over and saw the field. "*sigh* If only I can shoo away a cow..." Suddenly, one of the cows charged the fence; it didn't like the idea of being locked up and longed to be free. The cow broke the fence and stood on the line, lowering its head down to graze. "Now, for my shrill whistle," thought Caitlin and her driver prepared to pull the whistle chain. The driver pulled the chain and a loud whistle ran throughout Ulfstead Castle. Even Stephen, who was showing tourists around the castle grounds heard the sound. "What's that?" he wondered. The passengers had to cover their ears. At the station, Gordon puffed away as fast as his wheels could carry him. "So loud! I can't hear myself!" cried Gordon. Connor winked at Caitlin as Gordon dragged him along. The whistle was so loud, in fact, that only Caitlin noticed that the cow was back in his field. The driver stopped and Caitlin steamed away. "I... I never heard a whistle that loud before," cried Millie. Caitlin smirked and made her away across the island. Her driver felt like he had gone deaf. "It's a good thing I'm not," he told the fireman, for he could still hear the puffing and chuffing of Caitlin. That night, Caitlin backed into Tidmouth Sheds for another visit. Gordon and Henry weren't pleased. "See guys? Cows are nice! You just have to know how to handle them." she gloated. "Well... Henry and Gordon's cow thing happened a long time ago in the earlier days of the railway, so I'd say they learned," replied Edward. Caitlin whistled and Gordon nearly jumped off the rails. "Please, stop whistling! I get it!" he cried. Caitllin giggled and fell asleep. "That wasn't that loud! What got you so deaf, Gordon?" asked Henry. "I'm not deaf, just... Well, let's just say Caitlin here shooed a cow and blew the loudest whistle I ever heard." Henry's eyes widened. "Really? Then I can see why you're grumpy." "Pah!" and the engines went to sleep, hoping that''' 'nothing will top Caitlin's whistle, because if it did, they might just become deaf. Characters * Edward *Henry *Gordon *Stephen *Connor *Caitlin *Millie *Sir Robert Norramby *James (does not speak)'' * BoCo (cameo) *Arthur (cameo) Category:DonaldDouglasandToby6's Episodes Category:Season 5